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Books

Exclusive Interview: “My Pokémon Baking Book” Writer Jarrett Melendez

 

Admit it: You’ve wondered what Pikachu would taste like. We all have; just some of us are more willing than others to admit it. And we all know the answer, too: a cupcake. He would probably taste like a cupcake.

Well, wonder no more because now you can make Pikachu cupcakes, and many other baked goods inspired by your favorite pocket monsters, courtesy of Jarrett Melendez’s new cookbook, My Pokémon Baking Book: Delightful Bakes Inspired By The World Of Pokémon (hardcover, Kindle).

In the following email interview, Melendez explains how this cookbook came together, as well as which recipes are his favorite to bake.

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“High On Knife” Review

 

Among the many interesting characters in the comedic sci-fi first-person shooter High On Life was Knifey, a sentient and psychotic knife who could be used to get around like the grappling hook from Halo Infinite or Horizon Forbidden West.

During actual combat…well, we all know the cliché about bringing a knife to a gunfight. It’s probably why, despite the name, Knifey isn’t the main weapon you use in the first add-on for Life, High On Knife.

But while Knife may not turn Life into a hack & slash action game, that doesn’t mean Knifey isn’t at the center of this game.

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PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways” Review

 

Like seconds of a good meal, add-ons for video games can sometimes be more of a good thing, sometimes just more of the same, and sometimes just too much.

Thankfully, it’s the former category that we find Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways, an add-on for the recent and excellent remake of Resident Evil 4.

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PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Mortal Kombat 1” Single-Player Review

 

For some, fighting games are all about beating the crap out of their friends. Or complete strangers they meet online. For others, though, they’re about the challenge of taking on a computer intelligence, one that may even be more skilled than they could ever hope to be. It is for the latter group — of which I am a proud, paid up member — that I present the following critique of the new Mortal Kombat 1 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) from the perspective of someone who only played it — and only wanted to play it — as a single-player game.

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PC Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

4 Things I Applaud “Starfield” For Including (And 1 I Wish They Had)

 

There’s an old saying: The devil’s in the details. But when you’re making a massive game like the sci-fi space opera action role-playing game Starfield — which is out now for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and is easily one of the best games of the year — sometimes it’s the little details that get lost in the shuffle, especially when you have so many big details to worry about. But in playing Starfield, I noticed a couple little things that I wanted to applaud the good people at Bethesda Game Studios for including, things that won’t make a big difference to a lot of people, but things I noticed and appreciated.

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PC PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games Xbox Series S Xbox Series X

“Immortals Of Aveum” Review

 

Many of us aspire to greatness…and many of us fail. But sometimes, in failing, we still manage to do something good. It’s something I thought about while playing the ambitious but underwhelming and yet still engaging fantasy first-person shooter Immortals Of Aveum (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC). While it falls short of what would seem to be its lofty goals, what Aveum does offer is exciting combat in interesting places against competent enemies, and that’s enough to make it kind of fun.

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PC PlayStation 5 Video Games

“Crossfire: Sierra Squad” Hands-On Preview

 

While the modern military first-person shooter CrossfireX was an unmitigated disaster (hence its prominent place on my Worst Video Games Of 2022 list), the good people at Smilegate are not giving up on this series. After all, the original Crossfire is still big, especially in China and South Korea. Maybe that’s why Smilegate are bringing the series to VR with Crossfire: Sierra Squad, which will be released for PlayStation VR2 on August 29th, and later for Oculus and SteamVR.

And it’s because of the game’s impending release that, this week, some of those good people at Smilegate — who, for the record, are the not the people who made CrossfireX — came to Los Angeles to let game journalists have some hands-on time with the PSVR2 version of the game.

Note: The screenshots in this preview were provided by Smilegate, and not from my playthrough of the game.

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PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Reviews Video Games

“High On Life” (PS5 / PS4 Edition) Review

 

When it came out on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in December of 2022, the snarky sci-fi first-person shooter High On Life immediately became one of my favorite games of the year. But it was also a “must play” for fans of Rick & Morty because one of the main characters, a talking gun named Kenny, was voiced by Justin Roiland, who’s the voice of both Rick and Morty, as well as the founder of High developers Squanch Games.

A month later, though, it came out that Roiland had been arrested and charged with felony domestic battery and false imprisonment, which prompted other people to come forward with accusations about his behavior. Roiland was subsequently fired from Rick & Morty, and his other sci-fi ‘toon, Hulu’s Solar Opposites, and he resigned from Squanch Games. And while the criminal charges were dismissed, and Roiland has denied any wrongdoing, he has not been rehired by Adult Swim, Hulu, or Squanch Games, nor has he been forgiven by the public at large.

Now, some people believe you should not equate the art with the artist, especially when said art is a collaboration with other people, like, say, a video game. Other people believe you cannot separate them. Me? I believe you’re innocent until proven guilty, but also that where’s there’s smoke there’s often fire, so you should do what feels right for you and leave everyone else to do the same. So, if you can’t play High On Life because of Roiland’s voice, or involvement, fine. If you can, fine. To each his own.

That said, as someone who was still able to play it, even with Roiland’s problematic accusations very much on my mind, here is my review of the newly released PlayStation 5 / PlayStation 4 version of High On Life.

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Books Video Games

Exclusive Interview: “Assassin’s Creed: The Resurrection Plot” Author Kate Heartfield

 

While most of the novels based on the Assassin’s Creed video games are obviously connected to specific games, the ones in Kate Heartfield’s series The Engine Of History are exceptions in that they’re set in the same fictional universe, but are not directly tied to any specific game. Though, as she explains in the following email interview we did about the newest Engine installment, Assassin’s Creed: The Resurrection Plot (paperback, audiobook), the Engine books are directly connected.